Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-02-01
HOME AND ABROAD.
INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF
ANGEL ISLAND BATTERIES.
The Mexican Pension Bill Signed
England to Send Men-of- War
to Canada Etc.
IsrxcIAL DISPATCHES TO THE RECORD uNroS.I
A NATIONAL SHAME.
Graphic Description of the Rot en- De-
fenses of Angel Island,

Graphic Description of the Rot en- De-
fenses of Angel Island,
WASHINGTON, January 3lst--The follow
ing report of an engineer officer, an In
spector of Batteries ON Angel Island, San
Francisco harbor, has been received at the
War Department, and may be taken as
sample of the decay and uselessDess Of our
deienses. The defenses on Angel Island
are usually rated as consisting of three bat
teries-namely, Point Blunt, Point Knox
and Point Stewart There seems TO be no
reason why the indescribable ruin on Point
Blunt should be classified as battery, or
a defense of any kind, as it lacks guns,
parapet and platforms and. as its maya
zine is useless, the parapet slid of many
years ago. The magazine and platforms
are decayed past all thought of repair. To
speak of this battery as unserviceable is
to convey an incomplete and inaccurate
view There is nothing here that can con-
tribute to defense, while the ruins are an
obstacle and an inconvenience to any occu-
patton. 1t requires photograph 10 repre-
sent the guns and
THE DEsoLATfoN OF THE AssEMBLAGE OF
GUNS
And platforms of the Point Knox battery.
There are ten guns. three of which are
Rodman, with iron carriages. The re-
manning seven guns are on wooden carri
ages that are in the last stages of decay.
Some are blocked up TO keep them in posi-
ton. The carriages are all of wood, and
front pentle. In the traverse rail tim
bers, where the dust of decomposition re-
mains, the carriage wheels are sunk, and
where dust has been blown away the
wheels rest upon the ground. Iron bolts,
deserted by the wood in which they were
driven, stand out eccentrically or other
wise. 1t is possible to fire all the guns
once.
A BATTERY ON THE DIssoLvING PLAN.
As they are now pointed, the result must
be conceived to be final dissolution of ali
that remains of the platform and the seven
wooden carriages. There are four guns in
the Point Stewart battery. There is no
magazine, however, and all the elements of
defense are absent, from obsoleteness
and decay, beyond thought of repair. A
description of Point Knox battery ap-
plies to the effectiveness here. These bat
teries have been many times reported as
unserviceable. The fact of continued in
spection from time to time may perhaps be
held to indicate that, amidst the general
decay, something of defensive value re-
mains. This would be mistake. They
contain nothing of use, and are incapable
of good.
CONGRESS AT FAULT.
1t is stated at the War Department that
requests have been made repeatedly for an
appropriation for the repair of these bat
teries, but invariably without success.
Captain Taylor, of the Ordnance Corps, in
a letter published in 1885, showed the utter
worthlessness in the first line. In the whole
harbor of San Francisco he showed that at
that time land no material change has been
made since) there were mounted forty To-
inch smooth bores, against ironclads six
teen S-inch rifles only intended as auXili-
aries in the defense of such harbors as this,
and mounted in such way as TO render
| them, too, worthless against armor- clads /;
seventeen 15inch guns, whose best work
with full charges) is only ten inches Of
armor. and whose carriages only allow
them to fire about half charges.
At THE MERCY OF ONE VESSEL.
In an interview with him to-day Captain
Teylor referred the reporter to two lectures
delivered by him before the Military Asso-
citation of the Pacific, which he said would
show the helplessness of San Francisco in
case of war, and said it was sufficient to
say that with the defenses of San Francisco
as they are an English ironclad can cap
ture and hold the city, its superb harbor,
our only navy yard and our only arsenal